


An Easy Partnership

by goldberry-in-the-rushes (thepottermalfoyproblem)



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Anal, Angst, Book deaths of the Durins, Canon BOTFA, Dwarf Courting, Fluff, M/M, dealing with grief, top!Bofur, topfrombottom!Nori
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-02
Updated: 2015-04-02
Packaged: 2018-03-20 20:53:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3664575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thepottermalfoyproblem/pseuds/goldberry-in-the-rushes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the battle, Bofur goes to find Nori. They are both shaken by the events of the day and need to reassure each other that they are both unharmed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Easy Partnership

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own shit.  
> This was supposed to be a 500 word PWP. Obviously it has exceeded that.

The aftermath of battle was something that would haunt Bofur’s dreams for years to come. The sounds and smells and even the feeling of the air around him created an atmosphere that he never wanted to experience again. He was but a simple miner, he had no desire to be part of warfare on this grand of a scale.

In all the childhood tales and all the stories told around the campfire, Bofur had heard of the heroism of the fallen, the bravery of the survivors, and the acts of valor that marked the birth of legends. Lengthy epics had been dedicated to battles, detailing how many had died with honor and how many had lived to fight another day. Everything seemed to be contained within those tales. Bofur knew now that they were but fairy stories, told to children or to ease the true pain of loss. What storytellers seemed to have neglected to mention was the soul-crushing, gut-wrenching terror that preceded all else and the bone-deep weariness that dogged at the heels of the survivors.

Bofur was feeling both in equal measure as he tore through the battlefield headed for the mountain, searching for the other members of Thorin’s company. He already knew the fate of their leader, having seen Beorn bearing Thorin’s unconscious form through the fray of battle. Fili and Kili’s fates he also knew, he had seen them fall with his own eyes.

The dwarf stopped in his tracks and leaned heavily against a nearby wall, gloved fist against his mouth as he fought against the sick feeling rising within him. He was just a simple miner, they had just been children. War was for warriors, hardened over the years. Fighting back the nausea, he slowly straightened back up and continued his search.

He found his brother and cousin first, relief flooding through his body at the sight of them. Bombur had a few bruises and scrapes, but for the most part was unharmed. Bifur was worse off, the battle had set something off inside him and he was still coming down off the high of adrenaline, wild-eyed and shaking. Bombur sat next to him, speaking in a soft voice Bofur knew he used on his children. He didn’t approach, just made eye contact with his brother, who nodded and signed reassurances without breaking his steady murmur of khuzdul. Bofur let them be, hurrying onwards. He had seen Nori’s familiar shape disappear into Erebor, so that was where he headed.

He and Nori shared a unique relationship. Even before the quest they had long been friends, and Bofur had borne witness to many things in the thief’s life that not even his family knew of. Over time, their friendship had grown into an easy partnership, where comfort and pleasure had been found in equal measure. They had never made anything official, but were still content together. So Bofur worried as he hastened toward the mountain, there was little knowing what condition he would find Nori in.

The miner passed Thorin’s tent on his way. He didn’t stop to look in, he knew what he would find: the king half dead already with his nephews beside him and Dwalin likely hovering nearby. The earlier mental image had been enough, he didn’t have any desire to view the real thing.

Dori, Balin, and Oin were all huddled in a clump outside the tent flap, but it was a testament to how bad everything was that they merely glanced up at him as he passed. Oin made to move towards him, but his eyes flicked back over his shoulder at the tent and went back to whispering with the others instead. Bofur was glad, he wasn’t hurt, just a little shaken. It was best that Oin use his skills where he was needed.

Once inside the gates of Erebor, Bofur breathed a little easier. Yes, the mountain still stank of dragon, but at least the sounds of the camp bustle and the cries of the wounded were less apparent in the stone halls. He took a minute to compose himself before he searched for Nori, head tilted back, staring off into the darkness far above. The sound of approaching voices startled him out of his reverie, and he lurched forward, almost bowling the speakers over.

A heavy hand settled on his shoulder, steadying him.

“Careful, I wouldn’t want you to survive the battle but get killed by your companions.” Bofur looked up to see Dwalin frowning down at him.

“I thought you would be with Thorin,” he said, eyes squinting in confusion as Dwalin actually flushed and rubbed the back of his neck with a free hand.

“Ah, no, I’m headed there now. There was something that couldn’t wait.” Bofur raised an eyebrow as Dwalin turned and walked swiftly out of the gate. That was the closest to a tactical retreat he thought he had ever seen the other dwarrow perform. He smirked and shook his head, if it had been anyone else, that would have been a full-on sprint.

A polite cough behind him made Bofur spin around to find Ori, nervously fiddling with the edge of his sweater. Bofur felt his eyebrows rise towards his hairline as he took in the new braid framing the scribe’s face that seemed to contradict the clear streaks that crossed through the grime on his cheeks. He opened his mouth to comment, but Ori cut him off.

“Dori doesn’t know yet. I’d like to be content by myself for a while before he starts to mother me all over again.” Ori pulled a face, and Bofur sympathized.

“I’m not planning on telling Dori. In fact, I’m searching for your other brother.” Bofur was less worried about Nori than he had been immediately following the battle, he’d seen his distinctive hair from across the field as he disappeared through the main gate of Erebor, so he was alive at least. However, there was no telling about the state of his health from a glimpse across a field of corpses and carrion birds.

The direction of his thoughts must have shown on Bofur’s face, because Ori looked at him with dawning understanding and pointed back over his shoulder. “I saw him pass by when Dwalin and I were talking. He was headed for the armory I think.” Bofur stepped in that direction but was stopped by a strong grip on his arm. “Bofur, please be careful. I know you like my brother, but he wasn’t acting like himself. He barely even noticed I was here.”

Bofur patted Ori’s hand. “I know how to handle Nori, lad. Go find your new betrothed before he explodes from embarrassment.” He winced as Ori released his arm, rubbing the bruises that were already forming. It was a good thing the lad was with Dwalin, any gentler dwarf would have a rough time of it. Ori moved as if to head towards the gate and then paused.

“Bofur, I think he’s blaming himself for what happened with Fee and Kee.” Ori blinked hard, and his lips quivered but he continued on. “If he is, could you tell him it’s not his fault? Dwalin and I can carry on without Fili, though we wish we didn’t have to.” The younger dwarrow bit his lip hard and then hurtled out the gate in the direction Dwalin had taken. Bofur stared after him with a contemplative look on his face. He had suspected the three had been close, and it was bittersweet to see Ori with one courting braid when he might have had two.

Nori must have known if Ori was worried about him internalizing the blame for Fili’s death.

The walk to the armory was a short one, but it seemed longer because Bofur had no idea what condition he would find Nori in. Was he hurt at all? Was he indeed shaken by the battle and the death of the princes? Would he even want Bofur around? Nori had his moods, and sometimes he pushed even Bofur away when the world around him got to be too much.

A crash echoed down the hall and Bofur sped up, hitting a run as his imagination provided all sorts of unpleasant scenarios. He careened around the last corner and sprinted down the hall only to come to a halt at the sight of Nori. His familiar spiked hair was in disarray from being underneath a helmet, his shoulders heaving as he glared across the room. The cause of the crash seemed to be the despised helmet, laying in a pile of fallen weaponry on the far side of the armory. Bofur approached the other dwarrow with extreme caution.

“Mahal damn me to the Void, _kakhf!”_ An armored gauntlet flew across the room to join the helmet. “If I hadn’t been wearing this _rukhsul’kakhfu_ armor I could have saved them. I was right sodding there!” The other gauntlet clanged against its brother.

“Nori,” Bofur spoke as calmly as he was able, given the circumstances. He reached out a hand as if to rest it on the thief’s shoulder, but let it fall uselessly to his side as Nori whirled around, knife suddenly in his hand.

“Oh, it’s you.” Nori visibly deflated, tucking the knife back into his tunic. He didn’t look up to meet Bofur’s eyes. “I’m sorry you had to see that, Bofur. I didn’t expect you to come after me so soon.”

Bofur eyed the pile of weaponry and armor in the corner, suspecting the cause but asking all the same. “Mind tellin’ me what that was about? That was quite an impressive outburst, even for you.”

Nori’s shoulders slumped lower. “I was right there, Bofur. One minute the princes were fine, laughing as they always were, even in the thick of battle. Then I turned for a moment and when I looked back, they had been surrounded. I couldn’t reach them quick enough, my damn armor weighed me down!”  He angrily shook the mail rings that still covered his tunic, eyes flicking up to meet Bofur’s own.

Bofur couldn’t stand it, in two long strides he marched up to Nori and wrapped his arms about him, ignoring the indignant squawk that greeted him. After a moment of rigidity, the thief sighed and returned the embrace, tucking his face into the crook of Bofur’s neck and muttering under his breath.

“What was that, love? I couldn’t hear you through all the hair.” Bofur chuckled softly and smoothed a hand over the back of Nori’s head.

“I said, I’m glad you survived. You’d be hard to replace.” His arms tightened around Bofur’s middle. “Don’t make me say it again.”

“I won’t. Come on, let’s get out of here. I could use a good stiff drink and I’m sure you could too.” Bofur went to extricate himself and pull Nori toward the open doorway, but encountered unexpected resistance as Nori suddenly grinned up at him and held on.

“I could think of a few other stiff things I could use.”

Bofur blinked once in shock. “Nori, I do believe that is the worst line you have ever used on me. That includes the comment about the Oliphant trunk.”

“Yes, but did it work?” Nori winked at him and Bofur groaned in mock irritation.

“A’course it worked, it’s you, your lines always seem to work. Still, let’s get out of here, I’ve had enough of deadly weapons for today.” He paused, and then cut Nori off before he could open his mouth. “And I swear to Mahal if you make a reference to your ‘deadly weapon’ you won’t see hide nor hair of me for the next week.”

Nori chuckled and Bofur dragged him out of the armory and down still corridors towards the room they had chosen when they first retook the mountain. Their footsteps echoed in the empty hallways and Bofur could feel Nori still tense beside him. He may have been joking around, but Bofur knew that was only a coping mechanism. To distract Nori he said the first thing that sprang to mind.

“Did ya see Ori and Dwalin when you ran through the entrance hall like a dwarf possessed?” Bofur winced as Nori sent him a sharp look. The two were a sore subject with Nori, and had been since early on in the quest. He was surprised then, when Nori didn’t match his sharp look with an equally piercing comment. Instead he let out a quiet sigh and let his chin drop to his chest.

“Aye, I saw them. About time too. I had a nice long chat with Dwalin and Fili yesterday, before the battle. Told them life was too short to go playing with young, vulnerable hearts. It was worth Ori punching me to see Dwalin spluttering. I wish…” Nori swallowed hard and looked away, back down the hall. “They’ll be happy, but I think they are going to miss Fili more than they realize.”

Bofur halted in his tracks and spun around, pinning Nori against the smooth stone wall. He pressed his forehead against the thief’s and took a deep breath, hands resting on Nori’s shoulders.

“It was not your fault.” His broad mittened hands crept up to cradle Nori’s face. “There was nothing you could have done, even if you hadn’t been wearing your armor. In fact, I’m glad you were wearing it, it kept you safe. I would be lost without you.”

“I am afraid my brother will be lost without Fili, Bo’. I’m afraid if he finds out I was so close he will blame me.  I don’t want to lose him because I was too slow.” Nori’s eyes were screwed tightly shut, and Bofur pressed his lips against Nori’s forehead.

“Nori, your brother knows you well enough to know you are blaming yourself for this. In fact, he asked me to tell you that he doesn’t blame you at all.”

Nori raised an eyebrow at Bofur. “He did? Well, there’s a bit of grace I wasn’t expecting. Ah, but maybe I was thinking of Dori and his tendency to hold grudges. Months on the trail with him, and my little brother still surprises me.”

“You didn’t know him very well before the quest, Nori. You were always off doing… whatever it is that you do.”

“True, Bofur, true.” Nori sighed and leaned back against the wall. “Let’s just go back to our room. I remembered something I need to do.”

Bofur smiled fondly at Nori and pulled him into an upright position before heading the rest of the way to their room. The two dwarrows had picked a small room out of the way of the main thoroughfare. It had a balcony that Nori had claimed would be excellent for easy access sneaking. Bofur was more excited about the attached bath, though the water was cold without the heat from the forges far below. He may have been a simple miner, but even miners disliked crusted dirt in every crease of their bodies.

He was thankful for the bath even more now, as he helped Nori out of the rest of leather and mail armor and hauled him towards the shower. The thief was oddly complacent, which unnerved Bofur quite a bit, but Nori shrugged off Bofur’s concerns with a _I’m just considering something, it’s nothing important_. He frowned but left Nori to take down his braids and shucked his own battle-stained clothing, making a face at his ruined shirt. He had quite liked that shirt.

At least his hat was intact. This he placed reverently on a small stone ledge that ran the perimeter of the bath, before he shook out his braids and ran calloused fingers through his hair. He idly wondered how many others remembered that the plumbing in the mountain still worked, even after all this time, and decided that he didn’t really care. Distracted by his thoughts, he jumped when he heard a harsh gasp from behind him. Spinning around, he was relieved to find it was merely Nori’s reaction to hitting the freezing water of the shower.

“Come on in, the water’s fine,” quipped the dwarrow, though his chattering teeth belayed his actual feelings on the matter. Bofur laughed and joined him, gritting his teeth against the cold.

The two showered quickly, not wanting to stay under the frigid water any longer than absolutely necessary. As soon as the grime of battle had rinsed off their skins, they flung themselves out of the spray, cursing the cold and wringing out their sopping hair. Shivering, Bofur dug around in his pack, tossing a relatively clean shirt in Nori’s direction before pulling another over his own head.

He sat down on the stone platform that had once held a mattress, but was now bare save for Nori and Bofur’s bedrolls. Reaching for his hair, Bofur started to pull it into his customary braids, but Nori sat down beside him and stilled his hands.

“I got to thinkin’, Bofur, maybe I should follow my own advice. I know I’m not the most demonstrative dwarrow, and I’m probably the worst candidate for anyone’s wellbeing… But… well…” Bofur couldn’t help but smirk at Nori as the normally rather smooth talker stumbled through the next words all in a rush. “We’ve been partners for so long, maybe we had better just make it official.”

Bofur tilted his head in question, “What brought this on, _Askâdê_? We discussed this years ago, and you said you didn’t want to be tied to me. For my safety as well as your own.”

“I was thinking in the hall… Ori just lost one of his partners and he’s still accepting the one that is left. I only have you. I only want you. What if you had fallen today? I wouldn’t have been able to mourn you properly and I don’t think I could have stood it.” Nori reached up and fingered a lock of Bofur’s damp hair. “Can you forgive me a bit of selfishness?”

Bofur smiled softly and leaned towards Nori. “Aye, I think I can do that, love.” He pressed his forehead against the thief’s. “If that’s selfishness, then I am selfish too.”

He chuckled as Nori surged forward and pressed his lips against Bofur’s lips. His unbound beard, still damp from the shower, tickled Bofur’s face as the miner fell backward onto the bedrolls. Bofur wrapped his arms around Nori and rolled them over so he was kneeling over his partner, planting kisses along his brow bone.

“I want to leave braids all through your hair, but right now… I just want to run my hands over you, make sure my eyes aren’t tricking me. You ran off so quickly after the battle I had no idea what condition you were in.” Bofur tugged Nori’s shirt off and sat back, admiring the view. Nori had a few scrapes and bruises, but was otherwise unharmed. Bofur smirked, “Handsome as always.”

Leaning down to ghost more kisses across Nori’s face, Bofur ran slow fingers up his sides, thumbs brushing across abdomen and then chest. His smirk broadened into a grin as his thumbs brushed across the small, cold bars that ran through Nori’s nipples and Nori whimpered at the sensation. Abandoning his previous area, Bofur kissed his way down Nori’s chest, brushing his beard out of the way and laving his tongue across Nori’s nipple. He rather enjoyed the contrast of warm, slightly spicy skin to the cold, sharp tang of metal against his tongue. The deep moan that left Nori’s mouth was also immensely enjoyable.

“Fuck, Bofur,” Nori’s hips bucked involuntarily as he swore, and Bofur hummed in pleasure as he felt Nori’s hardening length press up against his own. He leisurely canted his hips forward, sliding them together and sighing at the contact. Bofur continued at an agonizingly slow pace, rolling his hips forward against Nori’s until his partner growled impatiently and wound his fingers through Bofur’s thick mane. Using Bofur’s hair as leverage, Nori hauled him up and pressed a desperate kiss to his mouth.

“If you’re going to fuck me, do it proper, don’t make me wait.” Nori’s breath was already stuttering from the exhaustion of the earlier battle, and his voice had gone deeper with arousal. Bofur moaned at the sound and snapped his hips forward just a little harder, pulling slightly against the hands in his hair.

Nori swore again and let go, twisting a bit to grab for one of his ever-present pouches. He rooted through it and then pressed a vial into Bofur’s waiting hands. When he continued to sprawl on his back, Bofur raised an eyebrow at him and Nori smirked before leisurely rolling onto his stomach. He hummed into the bedroll beneath him as Bofur gently nudged his legs apart with his knees. The cork came out of the vial with a soft pop, and Nori twitched involuntarily with anticipation.

Bofur chuckled low in his throat, grinning at Nori when he looked back over his shoulder. “My impatient _Askâd_.” He poured a little of the viscous liquid onto his fingers before recorking the vial and sliding his dry hand softly over Nori’s hip. Pulling Nori up slightly onto his knees, Bofur slid one slick finger slowly down from Nori’s tailbone to the waiting ring of muscle. Nori whined and pushed backward toward the pressure of Bofur’s fingers. After years of being together, his body was used to the sensation and it was the work of only a few minutes for Bofur to be working a second finger in beside the first. Nori grunted slightly at the burn of stretching muscle, but the grunt grew into a groan as Bofur’s fingers brushed against his prostate and he forgot about the pain completely as Bofur withdrew his fingers completely. He whined at the loss and tilted his hips back, seeking friction.

Bofur leaned over and pressed a kiss against Nori’s bare shoulder. “Roll over, love, I want to see your face.” He playfully swatted Nori’s bottom and his partner gave him a reproachful look as he rolled onto his back. The reproach was quickly replaced with a gleam of lust as Bofur stripped off his shirt and poured more oil onto his hands, slicking his heavy cock with practiced ease. He bit his lip and twitched in his own palm at the feeling. Beneath him, Nori growled with impatience and reached for him, dragging him down for a kiss that was more teeth than lips. Bofur complied, sliding his hips forward and pressing up against Nori as he did so. Nori’s hands pulled sharply on his hair and then slid down to his hips. Fingers gripped Bofur hard enough to bruise as Nori tugged him forward, molten heat surrounding his prick as he half pushed and was half pulled into Nori.

They paused for a moment, Bofur gasping at the sensation with his eyes screwed tightly shut and Nori biting his lip and barely resisting the urge to roll his hips in a frantic rhythm. Instead he rolled them slowly and grinned as Bofur’s eyes flew open with a strangled moan.

Everything was a blur of heat and friction after that. Bofur’s still-slick hands found their way onto Nori’s cock and Nori lost track of whose voice was keening into the darkening room. It might have been his, though he tended toward softer sounds out of habit. Bofur’s hips snapped forward and Nori left crescent marks where his nails dug into his partner’s skin. A few more thrusts and Bofur stuttered forward as he came, Nori’s name whispered like a reverent prayer.

Nori surged upward and caught Bofur’s mouth in his own as he reached down with a shaking hand and helped Bofur with the last few tugs that brought him to completion as well. They collapsed together on the bedrolls, breathing hard, and remained like that for a few minutes, trying to ignore the sticky sensation that was slowly growing across their abdomens and between Nori’s thighs. After a while though, Nori grimaced and rolled off the platform, padding to the bath for a clean wet rag. It was cold, but better than nothing.

He chuckled at Bofur, already curled sleepily into the center of the bedrolls and swiped at him with the wet rag. The miner shot upright at the icy touch and glared at Nori.

“I was enjoying the warmth of afterglow and you just had to ruin it,” his words were harsh, but his tone was fond.

“You looked so peaceful, it was just too tempting, Bo’,” Nori winked at him and handed him the rag.  

“You’re an ass,” said Bofur, but he took the rag and wiped himself before dropping it on the floor by the bed and holding out his arms to Nori. “We need to sleep before we face the world tomorrow.”

Nori hummed assent and climbed back up next to Bofur. Bofur had always been extremely tactile, and was even more so when he was giddy with the aftershocks of orgasm. Nori curled up next to him and the two were soon asleep, grateful that they had both survived the horrific battle that had claimed so many.

\-----

The next morning everyone wondered where the two had wandered off to, but when Nori and Bofur reappeared much later than they usually would, Dori almost choked on the tea he had been drinking. The two acted nonchalant as they approached the campfire, but no one could miss the matching braids swinging in their hair as anything other than those of courting dwarrows.

“Mahal, not you too.” Dori groused as Nori sat down nearby.

Nori just grinned at his brother as Bofur leaned over and pressed a kiss to his temple. It was worth it just to see Dori get flustered.

The coming day may have been long and full of sorrow, but with Bofur by his side, it might just be more bearable.

**Author's Note:**

>  **Khuzdul**  
>  Askad - Shadow (a pet name Bofur calls Nori when he is feeling especially fond of him)  
> Kakhf! - Shit!  
> Rukhsul’kakhfu - Orc Dung 
> 
> **Other Notes:**  
>  In this fic, Nori and Bofur decided to be life-partners before the quest began, but they didn't want to legally bind themselves together for safety reasons. The terror of battle spurred them into the decision. I hope I made that somewhat clear.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you liked it, please review. ^^


End file.
